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back to article Date set for Jatropha Jumbo biofuel-2.0 test flight

Boeing and Air New Zealand have announced that they will carry out the first flight test of "second generation" sustainable biofuel in an airliner on 3 December. The planned test will be carried out using an Air New Zealand Boeing 747 flying from Auckland. During the flight, one of the jumbo's four Rolls-Royce engines will run …

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  1. Thingomy
    Pirate

    Nuts

    From what I remember form high school chemistry and physics, it's very rare for any form of combustion to be complete -- especially in situations where there are large fans present like inside a jet engine. The small percentage of the (vast quantity of) fuel that is not burned will pass out with the exhaust gasses, leaving an effect similar to a crop duster at 40000ft.

    No big deal, it's biodegradable, and will be spread over a very large area at low concentrations, it's never been a problem with conventional jet fuel... No big deal until someone says the phrase nut allergy...

    Does this mean that people will be dropping down dead from nut alergies everywhere?

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  2. Matt Bryant Silver badge
    Boffin

    Hardy?

    From what I've read, the jatropha is fine in otherwise poor land, but to provide a good crop of nuts requires good soil and plenty of water, both of which would seem to make it as bad a choice as corn or other fuel crops.

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  3. Andy
    Boffin

    nut allergies?

    well, most "nut" allergies are attributed to Peanuts, which acually belong to the pea family, rather than then nut family.

    so if my dark distant remembering of vegetable genus is correct, we should be ok on this one... :)

    my only thought is, how many nuts must you squeeze to part fuel mix a jet engine?

    plus an engine designed to burn mixed fuels will get better power/efficiency, than a parafin burning turbine. hell it could burn vodka..... stopping off at duty free to fill up just took another meaning...

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  4. kain preacher

    Oily nut juice

    Cum on on folks

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  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh for fux sake

    Gas turbine engines can be made to run on almost anything, including - but not for really long - coal dust.

    So all this hoo haa and bullshit about plonking an oily mixture of kerosine into them and making that burn - big deal - any halfwit can do this....

    The main issues are moisture levels and does it flow well enough to pump at low temperatures.

    You can figure that out with a home chemistry kit and a walk in deep freeze.

    This "Oh Oh Oh we are only going to do a 10% blend and feed it to only one engine" wankerism...

    Tossers - the lot of them.

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